6 yoga poses that can give you bright and glowing skin

Yoga is meant to make you healthy and strong. Since time immemorial, yoga has proven to be beneficial for a lot of physical and mental ailments. It is supposed to work on your health inside out and give you glowing and radiant skin. However, doing yoga for skincare may be something you should consider.

To know how to reap the benefits of yoga for skin, Health Shots spoke to Samiksha Shetty, a celebrity yoga expert and founder of wellness community space Moon Village.

Shetty says, “Yoga and skincare, both can be sometimes interlinked with each other. Since one of the benefits of doing yoga is getting a bright and healthy skin appearance. There are plenty of reasons which can cause one’s skin to get affected, that is an unhealthy gut and stress. Yoga may curb these health issues on the inside and impart a healthy radiant glow to your face.”

These are few asanas of yoga for skin care:

1. Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

This pose of yoga for skin care works effectively in giving you a glowing complexion. Practicing this pose regularly helps by putting intense pressure on the abdominal region, which in turn helps in detoxifying the body. This pose increases circulation in the face and pelvic region. It releases tension from the abdomen and strengthens it. Regular practice of this asana strengthens the reproductive organs. It also helps release indigestion and constipation. By maintaining a healthy gut, dhanurasana helps in giving you that glowing and healthy skin appearance.

How to do this yoga asana

*  Lie down on the floor flat on your stomach. Bend your legs from the knee keeping your knee hip-width apart. Extend your hands behind and grab your ankles from the outside.
* Inhale, and light your whole body off the floor balancing on the navel
* Exhale, and slowly release the position.

2. Seated Forward Bend (Paschimottanasana)

This is a beautiful asana to stretch the spine, shoulders and hamstrings. It releases the stress in the lower back and also improves digestion, which otherwise may cause many skin conditions like pimples and acne. Not only is this pose beneficial for reducing stress, it also purifies the blood, improves skin complexion and reduces the appearance of dark spots and wrinkles. Paschimottasana is a perfect yoga for skin care.

How to do this yoga asana

* Start by sitting on the floor with your legs extended straight ahead.
* Place your feet together and flex your feet towards you. Inhale, straighten the spine upwards.
* Exhale, lean your upper body forward, bending from the hip, maintaining a straight spine while bending forward.

3. Downward-facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Shetty says, “This asana helps unwind the entire body. It strengthens the arms and shoulders, lengthens the spine, calves and hamstrings and energizes the entire body by bringing blood flow to your brain and face.” This asana improves blood circulation in those areas giving you healthy flushed cheeks.

How to do this yoga asana

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* Start on the floor by placing your hands and knees down.
* Straighten your legs by lifting your knees off the floor and push your heels down as far as they can go. Extend the spine by pushing away from the ground using your palms.
* Stay in the pose for  for 5 to 9 breaths

4. Fish Pose (Matsyasana)

Fish pose is one of the back-bending poses that can be easily performed even by a beginner. This is one of the best yoga poses to attain fresh and even toned skin as it improves blood circulation in the head region.

How to do this yoga asana

* Sit in a Padmasana yoga pose.
* Slowly bend backwards and place your head on the ground.
* As you touch the ground with the top of your head, lift your chest upwards.
Hold the pose for a few seconds.

5. Plough Pose (Halasana)

This yoga pose is effective in improving the overall blood circulation of the body. It induces a sensation of calmness and puts you in a relaxed state of mind making it a perfect pose of yoga for skin care.

“This pose is beneficial in inducing sleep or tackling insomnia considering the fact that poor sleep cycle is one of the major reasons behind bad skin conditions. All these positive effects of this asana reflect on your skin,” adds Shetty.

How to do this yoga asana

* Lie down on your back, palms facing the ceiling.
* Gently lift your legs at ninety degrees and take them over your head to touch the flour.
* Maintain the pose for a minute, return to normal position

6. Shoulder stand (Sarvangasana)

This would be an intermediate level pose which has amazing benefits on your skin and glow. Mastering this pose is not too difficult, regular practice helps in improving blood circulation to the facial region, which helps in battling skin conditions like facial dullness, acne and wrinkles.

How to do this yoga asana

* Lay down on your back, facing the ceiling.
* Gently lift your legs and hips straight up by supporting back with your hands.
* Remain in the position for a few minutes; come back to the normal position.